for the Multilingual Globalized

Knowledge Society
 Key concepts
• What is CLIL?
Content & Language Integrated Learning
• Why do we need CLIL?

• How can we use CLIL?

• Where do we go from here?

What is “CLIL”?
“CLIL refers to situations where subjects, or
parts of subjects, are taught through a
foreign language with dual-focused aims,
namely the learning of content, and the
simultaneous learning of a foreign
language.” (Marsh 2002)

“[CLIL] differs from simple English-

medium education in that the learner is
not necessarily expected to have the
English proficiency required to cope
with the subject before beginning
study". (Graddol 2006)
“Hard” and “Soft” CLIL
Soft CLIL: predominantly linguistic objectives.
Content often provides a framework for a
language-dominated syllabus. “ELT CLIL”,
aligned with recent trends in topic-based but
language-focused ELT.

Hard CLIL: predominantly content objectives.

Language is relevant primarily as a vehicle
for progress in the learning of content.
(Language awareness, in terms of functional
language and language for discourse, is a
primary linguistic focus).
 Real Integration
“If we really want to use any foreign language as a
communicative tool in the classroom, content
cannot be enslaved to language … real integration
appears when we are able to determine what
language we need to help our students access that
content, to work with it, analyse it, assimilate it,
and create with it.” (Ball 2011)

C L
 Simulating L1 Development
We learn our L1 through the same kinds
of processes that CLIL tries to implement
for the L2 (or L3, etc.): accessing,
analyzing, assimilating, working with,
and creating with the content around us,
in the home and at school.

In a sense, CLIL tries to create

functional bilingualism (or
multilingualism) by creating
conditions that support the
construction of functional
communicative competence in
the target language
 The “What” Summary
• CLIL, in any form, describes a situation where learners
gain linguistic competence through the process of
gaining subject (content) competence.
• The term “CLIL” describes an approach, or a way of
approaching the teaching/learning process, that
achieves this kind of learning. CLIL implementation is
very context dependent.
• There is no “recipe” for implementing CLIL.
• CLIL is about objectives and results
(not about a strict specific methodology).
• CLIL has developed – and will continue developing – in
response to clear and present “real world” needs.
Why do we need CLIL?
 Global citizens and the need for CLIL
• Modern concepts of CLIL emerge from multilingual,
multicultural contexts, such as the European Union
(socioeconomic integration) and Canada (multilingual
communities and immigrants).
• Such contexts increasingly represent microcosms of the
planet as a whole.
• Communication and transportation technologies are
connecting people ever more quickly and easily.
• In the knowledge society, access to information is important,
but no longer sufficient.
• It is all about what you can do with that information.
• CLIL emerges from, and answers, the needs of modern
learners by supporting communicative and cognitive
development, helping learners access, analyze, assimilate,
work with, and create with information (content).
 Real needs, Real motivation
• CLIL focuses on learning content, so the learner is not being
assessed on mastering linguistic abstractions but the ability to
use the language appropriately for the content.
• CLIL focuses on real and relevant content; not the “pseudo-
content familiar form traditional textbooks used as a vehicle
to illustrate some linguistic abstraction.
• CLIL gives students a feeling of real achievement. They are
accessing, analyzing, and using complex information in the
target language.
• CLIL provides reasons for learning the target language
because learning the content is compulsory.
• CLIL requires students to argue their points of view not as a
abstract linguistic exercise, but because the ability to
successfully argue a point of view is necessary for real
competence in the content.
 Concerns about Language & Globalization?
• CLIL emerges from multilingual, multicultural contexts that
want to remain multilingual and multicultural.
• CLIL is an approach that can be used in any context to teach
any content in any language.
• CLIL approaches often include an intercultural dimension,
by which we do not mean the old, familiar “foods and
festivals” lessons, but providing the communicative and
cognitive tools for learners to interact successfully with C2s
(other cultures) as well as express their C1 (native culture)
in the target language.
• The multilingual globalized knowledge society is here.
CLIL prepares our students to be active and effective
participants in that society.
Into the (multilingual) future …
“The spread of English is gradually converting all
those largely monolingual countries (especially in
Europe) into bilingual and multilingual ones. English
is spreading from the north of Europe to the south,
leaving Ireland and the UK as the least multilingual of
all the countries in the European Union. I enjoy the
irony that English – so long thought of as the
language of monolingual culture – is now helping
re-establish multilingualism as a societal norm.”
– David Graddol

"For a while it has worked to be monolingual …

I don't think it's tenable anymore.”
– Albert Costa
Concerns about Bilingualism?
Separate Underlying Proficiency:
L1 A view that imagines 2 separate
“language compartments” in
L2 bilingual brains, each with a
limited storage capacity. This
“bubble view” leads believer to
think that learning another
language creates creates an
imbalance, “crowding out” the
first language.

This is, of course,

completely wrong.
(Cummins 1984)
 Concerns about Bilingualism?
Common Underlying
Proficiency:
Research shows that Hello!
multuple languages
are stored together in
the brain; knowledge
is linked and
interacts. Multiple
languages appear ¡Hola!
separate only at the
surface level, where
they are used to
speak, read, write,
and so on.
(Cummins 1984)
“Iceberg” Bilingualism

(Cummins 1980)
Cognitive benefits of Bilingualism
• Research shows that the demand of
constantly managing the surface
representations of multiple languages
helps bilingual speakers develop the
brain’s attentional executive system.
• This system is what allows one to focus on
a goal, take actions to achieve that goal,
and to ignore distractions. (Diamond 2010)
• Accordingly, bilinguals seem to be better at multitasking.
• The more time spent as multilingual, the more cognitive benefits.
• Cognitive benefits begin to develop at whatever age bilingualism
develops.
• Developing cognitive processing abilities is not just an abstract
phenomenon; it builds physical neural pathways and more of them.
• Older bilinguals seem to be more resistant to age-related brain
disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease.
 Discourse & Content
Learning about content implies an ability to
communicate appropriately about that content.
Conversational Language Skills
For everyday social interaction. Used for
context-rich, face-to-face communication,
like the language first learned by toddlers
and preschoolers. 2-3 years development.

(Cummins 1979)
Academic/Workplace Language Skills
Highly abstract, decontextualized communication of classroom
or workplace. Required to problem-solve, hypothesize,
imagine, reason and project into situations with which one has
no personal experience. A prerequisite functional literacy and
overall academic/working success. 5-7 years development.
 Balanced Bilingualism
• Regardless of which language you use, everyone has one integrated
source of thought.
• Everyone has the mental capacity to store and use multiple languages.
• Everyone use multiple languages at least as effectively as a single
language to acquire knowledge and develop cognitive skills because
both languages feed, and are fed from, the integrated source of
thought.
• Using multiple languages helps develop and maintain the whole
cognitive system.
… but …
• Everyone needs sufficient development in the language of learning to
be able to process the input and cognitive challenges of the learning
process.
• If learners are made to operate in an insufficiently developed L2
without recourse to their L1, the system does not function at its best.
• When one or both languages are not functioning fully, learners’
cognitive functions and academic performance may be negatively
affected.
 The “Why” Summary
• CLIL responds to clear and present “real world” needs.
• CLIL motivates learners with real reasons to learn both the target
content and the target language.
• Our brains are equipped to handle multilingualism
(we just usually don’t give them a good chance to do it).
• By seeking to simulate conditions of L1 development,
the CLIL approach harmonizes with our latent multilingual abilities.
• This makes CLIL approaches effective for developing
functional multilingualism.
… but …
• We need to scaffold cognitive and linguistic development in
both L1 and L2 (etc.) or students may not be sufficiently prepared
to handle the challenges of managing complex content in either
language.
 How can we use CLIL?
If there is one apparently obvious,
but evidently difficult, thing that
characterizes CLIL, it is the
requirement for the integration of
language and content in terms of
input, use, and evaluation.

CLIL teaching requires the establishment of

clear learning objectives for both language
and content AND evaluation methods for both
language and content.
 Finding the Balance
Content Objectives Language Objectives

Relative Student
Competences

C L

Content Achievement Language Achievement

 Finding the Path
High Linguistic Demand

Low Cognitive High Cognitive

Demand. Demand.
High Linguistic High Linguistic
Demand. Demand.
Low High
Cognitive Cognitive
Demand Demand
Low Cognitive High Cognitive
Demand. Demand.
Low Linguistic Low Linguistic
Demand. Demand.

Low Linguistic Demand

 Building the Path
Remember what Graddol said?
“the learner is not necessarily expected to have the English
proficiency required to cope with the subject before beginning
study". (Graddol 2006)
But what about the dangers of forcing learners to operate in an insufficiently
developed L2, which could negatively cognitive functions and academic
performance?
Learners are not expected to have the necessary
Low Cognitive academic language proficiency in the target
High Cognitive
Demand. Demand.
High Linguistic
Demand.
language before they begin learning the content,
High Linguistic
Demand.

but they are expected to eventually gain that

Low Cognitive
Demand.
proficiency.
High Cognitive
Demand.
Low Linguistic Low Linguistic
Demand.
We help them gain it by building a path for their
Demand.

progress that scaffolds their development in both

linguistic and content competences, moving from
lower to higher cognitive and linguistic demands.
Coyle’s 4Cs

(Coyle 1999)
 Coyle’s 4Cs explained
Multiple focuses for CLIL instruction:
• Content
• learning contexts that are relevant to learner needs and
interests
• integration of language within the broader curriculum of
content, forming conceptual and linguistic bridges across
the curriculum.
• Inclusion and use of L1 and L2 (and L3, etc.)
• Communication
• Using language in the “here and now” to construct new
knowledge and develop skills.
• Opportunities to “learn through language” and to construct
significance/understanding that is relevant and personal.
• Opportunities to interact face-to-face and virtually.
• Develop collaborative learning and working skills.
 More of Coyle’s 4Cs explained
Multiple focuses for CLIL instruction (continued):
• Cognition
• Learner progression in both language skills and knowledge
construction.
• Emphasis on interconnections between cognition and
communication – between language development and thinking
skills.
• Culture
• Particularly relevant in classrooms where learners bring diverse
language and cultural experiences.
• A vehicle for exploring the links between language and cultural
identity, examining behaviors and customs, attitudes and
values.
• Contexts and content that enrich understanding of both the C1
(native culture) and C2 ( and C3, etc.: i.e. other cultures).
• Strengthen skills for intercultural understanding and global
citizenship.
 Culture? Really
• Some content subjects offer more opportunities to
explore culture than others. For example, it would be
easier to address culture in a history class than a
mathematics class.
• It is probably not useful to artificially include cultural
content that has no relevance to the content. CLIL is
about relevance.
• But we must not forget that “culture” is not about
(just) “food and festivals”; it is about preparing
effective participants in the multilingual globalized
knowledge society.
• A mathematics course could include content about the use of the decimal
indicators “,” and“.” in different countries, or could include activities
about topics such as as time zones, calculating flight times, or comparing
currency exchange rates.
• Such “cultural” aspects are both relevant to the content and relevant to
how students might use the content in the multilingual globalized
knowledge society.
 Think Globally … and Locally
• Culture is not just about
other people who live far
away in other countries.
• Culture is all around us.
Culture can be very local.
• Look for opportunities to
explore local and
national culture through
CLIL.
• Global citizens need to be able to express their own culture as
well as communicate, interact with, and collaborate with
people other national and international cultures.
• There is as much to learn about “right here” as there is to
learn about “over there”.
 Skills for Life-long Autonomous Learning
• We cannot know what challenges our learners will face in the
future. We cannot know what skills, content, or linguistic
competences, they will need to learn in the future.
• The adaptable, analytical, reflective, self-sufficient learner
will be the successful person.
• Our students must learn how to learn – both content and
language – for themselves.
• A fundamental goal in CLIL is the development of
autonomous life-long learning skills.
• We must design activities and strategies that give our
students practice with “going beyond” what we “give” them:
practice that prepares them for engaging with “unknowns”
in the future.
• CLIL’s multiple focuses on content, language, and
cognitive/learning skills create a natural fit with these goals.
Is it language teaching? Is it content teaching?

It’s language teaching, Jim It’s content teaching, Jim –

– but not as we know it! but not as we know it!

(And developing autonomous learning skills!

And intercultural skills!)
There’s still a lot to try …
 Where do we go from here?
• Explore ways to implement CLIL in your context.
• Collaborate: language teachers and content teachers can work
together to develop CLIL approaches in their context.
• Your experiences with the implementation of CLIL represent
valuable research! Share your experiences with other teachers –
locally, nationally, and internationally.
• Learn about the experiences of other CLIL teachers and
researchers – locally, nationally, and internationally.
• Join – or create – collaborative, communicative networks that
connect you with other CLIL teachers.
• Look for professional development opportunities to enhance
your own skills in teaching, as well as content and language.
• Focus on results.
• Never stop innovating!
 Selected References
• Ball, p. (2011). CLIL-ing in me softly: Defining CLIL. Onestopenglish. Retrieved from
http://teachingtoteach.wordpress.com/2011/02/15/clil-ing-in-me-softly-defining-clil/.
• Coyle, D. (1999). Theory and planning for effective classrooms: Supporting students in content and
language integrated learning contexts. In Masih, J., (ed), Learning Through a Foreign Language:
Models, Methods and Outcomes. London: CILT, pp. 46-62.
• Cummins, J. (1979). Linguistic interdependence and the educational development of bilingual
children. Review of Educational Research 49(2), 222-251.
• Cummins. J. (1980) The Construct of language Proficiency in bilingual Education. In J.E. Atlantis (ed)
Georgetown University Round Table on Languages and Linguistics 1980. Washington: Georgetown
University Press.
• Cummins, J. (1984) Bilingualism and special education. Clevedon : Multilingual Matters
• Diamond, J. (2010). Social science: The benefits of multilingualism. Science 330(6002), 332-333
• Graddol, D. (2006), English Next. London: British Council Publications.
• Kovács, A. M., & Mehler, J. (2009). Cognitive gains in 7-month-old bilingual infants. Proceedings of
the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 106(16), 6556-60.
• Marsh, D. (2002). CLIL/EMILE - The European Dimension: Actions, Trends and Foresight Potential.
Foresight (pp. 1-204). Brussels.
Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/education/languages/pdf/doc491_en.pdf.
• Marshal, J. (2010). Bilingualism good for the brain: The longer a person has spoken two or more
languages, the greater the cognitive effects. Discovery News. Retrieved from
http://news.discovery.com/human/bilingualism-language-brain-function.html.
• Wallraff, B & Graddol, D. (2000). Being Multilingual: An e-mail exchange with David Graddol of The
English Company U.K. The Atlantic Online. Retrieved from
http://www.theatlantic.com/past/issues/2000/11/wallraff-graddol.htm.
Carl Edlund Anderson
A.B. Harvard College
Ph.D. University of Cambridge
carl.anderson@unisabana.edu.co
Department of Languages & Cultures
Universidad de La Sabana
Chía, Colombia